I met Cora Wen at the memoir writers’ retreat in Guatemala. There was something about Cora that drew me to her. Maybe it was that both of us came from immigrant families. Her energy is addictive. Cora was my therapeutic yoga teacher as well. We met at 7 AM every morning and she helped heal my broken shoulder, the Eastern way, and its excellent healing surprised my Western doctor. East and West. Much better when our lives – and our health -- are intertwined. Cora wrote P

One of the worst moments in life is when the doctor advises to call hospice for you or your loved one. Inside, you panic. This is navigating a new unknown. The end is now close, and no one wants to contemplate this inevitable. Hospice care is supposed to be specialized, compassionate care for individuals with terminal illnesses (generally less than six months to live) that is supposed to prioritize quality of life, comfort, and dignity over curative treatment . Suppo

As a grandmother, I will do anything to make my grandchildren happy. I knew about MrBeast on YouTube because my then seven-year-old and 13 year-old grandchildren kept showing me all the contests where he was giving away ridiculously large amounts of cash. They were hooked on MrBeast, who has been on YouTube for thirteen years, longer than the ages of my grandchildren when they introduced me to him. When MrBeast announced that he was selling chocolate, of course they wanted th

I have just returned from a memoir writing workshop retreat, called “Write By the Lake,” at Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, with Joyce Maynard. A long (we never say old) dear friend, Valerie, went exactly one year ago and told me to immediately sign up. I did. As I learned at the retreat, I am making a list of the words that describe the experiences of spending a week in rural and rugged Guatemala at Lake Atitlan and with Joyce Maynard, surrounded by thirty- four varieties of bird

As many of you may have experienced, when the first grandchild is born, you cannot wait to take them to the circus and other experiences. It is joyful to watch their eyes light up as they see things for the first time. And of course, you take them as soon as you can. We took our oldest grandchild when he was close to four. Please read the blog post, “ Of First Born Children and First Born Grandchildren: Benefits of Loving The First the Longest.” Especially those of you wai

As a former teacher who used to teach the Palmer Method to my elementary school children and as the mother of six grandchildren, it hurt my heart when in 2010 the U.S. education system removed cursive writing as a school curriculum requirement from the federal Common Core Standards. New Jersey has just become the 25th state, meaning, as of the beginning of 2026, we now have half of our states, again requiring cursive instruction in public schools. Half, or more than half o

My mother, a Holocaust survivor and daughter of a Kabbalist rabbi from a small town in pre World War II Poland, had a unique outlook on life. It is not unusual that looking back on my childhood and younger adulthood that I realize now her wisdom was rooted in Kabbalah. I just did not know then. I wrote a previous New Year’s blog about my mother and feelings of gratitude. Rereading it reminded me of the wonderful generational life lessons she instilled in me every day that she

Within the last several months, I have felt a sudden compulsion to address the Holocaust in my life and write a memoir of how the Holocaust impacted my family and me. Until this point, I could not see movies about the Holocaust, I could not read books about the Holocaust. I could not deal with the Holocaust as a child of Holocaust survivors. This turnabout has perplexed me. Because of this new compulsion, I just returned from a Jewish Heritage tour to Eastern Europe, visited

Whenever a couple near and dear to me tells me that they are entering into a committed relationship, getting engaged, or getting married, I first recommend premarital counseling, which I learned builds a strong foundation for the new committed relationship or marriage. There will be three entities, each person as an individual and as a separate entity, the committed or marital relationship. Combining the entities in a safe, expert setting eases the transition. Why not make g

His name was Jihad Al-Shamie. He was 35 years old and a British citizen of Syrian descent who entered the U.K. as a very young child, and...

I recently learned at age 78 that age 78 is the third critical age when the human body experiences a significant biological aging burst,...

Having been a judge and a lawyer, I am a rule follower. Actually, I’ve always been a rule follower, so it was easy to be a lawyer and a...

As I reflected in Part I, regarding the doctor dilemma we Boomers pass on to our children and grandchildren, it took this Grandma one...

It took this Grandma one year to get an appointment with a well-regarded ophthalmologist who specializes in cataract surgery at Bascom...

With what is happening in world travel now, it is important for this Grandma to introduce those of you who are unaware to MEDJET. PopPop...

This Grandma’s favorite tip about hugs is that you should never be the first to let go when you are hugging your grandchild. I learned...

When interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Warren Buffett, now 94 years old, was asked, “how did you know the day that you became old?”...

It is actually just now two years, two months, and three days since my husband died and I became a widow. You learn a lot becoming a...

Reading an article in the New York Times, May 1, 2025, about Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, once leader of the Church in the...

This Grandma has become a Buzzfeed fan. I first saw the car seat opener, that is incredible and even easy for a mechanically challenged...